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For what it's worth, the point where ME2 got switched off was when my Astro-PA said of my big basilisk/tiger power-armour suited mate that she "Just wanted to give him a hug and tell him everything was going to be all right", and there was no option to smash the heel of your boot into her face and throw her out of an airlock.

So your dislike of the game stems from your inability to beat up and murder women? Interesting.....

Last edited by Kadayi; 27-04-2012 at 08:32 AM.

Why yes you're right I'm deliciously evil
Tradition is the tyranny of dead men
Steam:Kadayi Origin: Kadayi
Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes....The Conclave beckons ... PM for details

ME1 had the best story. ME2 was a great continuation of said story. but even though I loved ME3, its a bit like Quantum Of Solace; it has no story of its own. It's simply there to finish up the entire arc. Thats why some people were annoyed at the story it DID add, like the end for example. I liked the ending just fine, but, and this is a large one:

BUT: I love series. I love overarching arcs, and I am patient as well as glad to hear more giblets of storystuffs.

So enjoy, and the gameplay gets better and better, in my opinion; so good, in fact, I think the multiplayer is really enhancing the gameplay.

"Quantacat's name is still recognised even if he watches on with detached eyes like Peter Molyneux over a cube in 3D space, staring at it with tears in his eyes, softly whispering... Someday they'll get it." - The Conclave

"Quantacat's name is still recognised even if he watches on with detached eyes like Peter Molyneux over a cube in 3D space, staring at it with tears in his eyes, softly whispering... Someday they'll get it." - The Conclave

That's a good point. RPGs do seem to be getting increasingly big on pets. Best guess, it's because World of Warcraft has pets and World of Warcraft goes to work every day on a private jet staffed entirely by hot elf chicks. Perhaps gamers are such manchildren these days that they have difficulty coping with the adversity of RPG dungeons without having a little snuffly friend to give them comfort and unconditional love. Or perhaps it's an offshoot of the co-op gameplay trend reflected in such games as Gears of War, Resident Evil 5 and Borderlands, but catering to people who don't like other human beings (i.e. RPG players).

NalanoH. Wildmoon
Director of the Friends of Nalano PAC
Attorney at Lawl
"His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy." - Woody Allen

Righty, so I've posted a legitimate number of reasons why Mass Effect wasn't really my sort of thing. I also included an clearly jokey aside about inflicting violence on a member of your crew who is, coincidentally, female. There is nothnig in the comment to suggest any hostility based on gender, just irritation with one specific character's personality.

Originally Posted by Kadayi

So your dislike of the game stems from your inability to beat up and murder women? Interesting.....

And you've just accused me of being a mysoginist, and of supporting gender-based violence against women. You've accused me of holding values that are directly linked to rape and sexual violence against women.

How dare you?

HOW FUCKING DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF THAT?

Do you realise what you're implying here? That I hate women or something, that I specifically enjoy harming women?

Show me in my comment where I imply that I want to beat that character up because of her gender. SHOW ME, you fucking shithead - you show me why you've said what you've just fucking said.

Which then draws the question why you're posting on a thread where a guy's asking advice for playing Mass Effect.

I'll repeat as you missed it;

Originally Posted by Capt. Eduardo del Mango

Reading this, though, I'll have a go at ME1 and see if engenders any more attachment to the characters (apparently the primary motivation for continuing through).

I read the thread and it changed my mind about leaving the Mass Effect series - that's a pretty reasonable thing to post in a thread where a guy's asking advice for playing Mass Effect, isn't it, Attorney at Lawl?

Besides, that's coincidental to what that fucking scumbag has just accused me of.

I read the thread and it changed my mind about leaving the Mass Effect series - that's a pretty reasonable thing to post in a thread where a guy's asking advice for playing Mass Effect, isn't it, Attorney at Lawl?

I wouldn't say it's the primary motivation, but it certainly helps. At least you bring perspective as somebody who didn't start at the beginning. Personally, I don't even wanna think about how grim the game would be for somebody who starts with ME3.

NalanoH. Wildmoon
Director of the Friends of Nalano PAC
Attorney at Lawl
"His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy." - Woody Allen

I started with ME2 and I still thought it was great. The main problem with starting with ME2 is that if you play ME1 afterwards the combat is really hard to get used to. It really is very awkward. ME1 definitely has the smartest plot in the series (which then seems to get ignored in the third game) so it's worth playing.

One good thing about starting with ME2 is that all the ME1 choices it chose for me by default were the crap ones, making my galaxy a little bit shit. This actually felt a lot more fun that an "I did everything perfectly" run.

One good thing about starting with ME2 is that all the ME1 choices it chose for me by default were the crap ones, making my galaxy a little bit shit. This actually felt a lot more fun that an "I did everything perfectly" run.

I like that part. It rewards playing the games through. You want things to go well? You gotta put some effort in. :P

That said, I don't understand what you're referring to when you say ME1's plot's tossed out in ME3.

NalanoH. Wildmoon
Director of the Friends of Nalano PAC
Attorney at Lawl
"His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy." - Woody Allen

That said, I don't understand what you're referring to when you say ME1's plot's tossed out in ME3.

Trying to avoid spoilers on this thread, but: the baddies have a plan that they use to win every time, yet in ME3 they don't try to follow anything resembling that plan, even though they presumably could. Also in ME1 Sovereign needed to try some complicated plotting to bring his friends back, whereas in ME3 we discover they can use turn up pretty much on a whim anyway... why not just do that instead?

Do the sidequests to get the most experience, the higher you get the higher you start ME2. and what cold said.

Also Nalano kind had the right to suggest he should play femshep, the dude asked advice and he provided it.

Also one thing you might take in mind is that the mass effect games are all different game of genre's, kind of. The first is more an RPG with guns, the second is a Action RPG hybrid and the third is full on action.

They're worth a shot, and you should be able to get ME1 for pretty cheap.
Don't ignore the side quests, there are definitely some worth doing, but avoid getting all completionist about them.
Play mShep or femShep - I've only played mShep and had no real complaints, youtube videos of femShep suggest to me that while the average quality might be a little better, there's a lot more horribly delivered lines from femShep. Anyway, just take your pick, I don't think you'll suffer much either way.
Don't go in like I did, expecting a game where you use a variety of skills and techniques to achieve things. You solve every problem you ever come across as Shepard by shooting from behind waist-high walls in linear environments. Occasionally you get to make a binary choice that doesn't change anything for now (although results may come back to you later on). The "guns and conversation" is a very apt description of what you get.

Play Mass Effect 1 first. If the story and characters don't grab you, don't bother with the other games. If you enjoy it enough to persevere through the mediocre combat and often boring sidemissions, great!
Regarding sidemissions, play as many as you want to and no more. They're fairly repetitive. I would advise you to do the missions that your squadmates give you, they usually have proper consequences beyond simply showing a dude in the next game saying "thanks for rescuing me from those pirates!" over and over.
Play as whichever Shepard you want, and in whichever class.
Definitely import your saves to the next game if you do continue.
Remember that a lot of the tedious stuff in ME1 is fixed or removed for ME2. The sidemissions are less bland, but there are fewer of them. The combat is improved, but at the cost of customisation options. The Mako (little APC that you drive around on planets) is gone, which pleased some people and disappointed others. The dialogue is generally snappier (the first has some awkward pauses where a character should interrupt but their line doesn't come fast enough) and the cinematography is improved (most of ME1's conversations are just two people facing each other with the camera pointing at whoever is talking).

I fear the lady doth protest to much. Yes naturally you were joking, you're quite clearly a well balanced individual I can see that now.

@OP

Don't skip the sidequests, just do them as they come up. There's one to the moon which is quite an important one to do.

Last edited by Kadayi; 27-04-2012 at 12:53 PM.

Why yes you're right I'm deliciously evil
Tradition is the tyranny of dead men
Steam:Kadayi Origin: Kadayi
Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes....The Conclave beckons ... PM for details

Don't skip the sidequests, just do them as they come up.There's one to the moon which is quite an important one to do.

Yeah, I'd advise doing most of the sidequests too. Just avoid the stupid ones (collect x insignias, survey x light metal deposits etc.). Also, there's no shame in looking up the maps of the exploarable planets on the Mass Effect wiki, as driving around in the mako until your find your destination is about as interesting as watching paint dry.

Also, there's no shame in looking up the maps of the exploarable planets on the Mass Effect wiki, as driving around in the mako until your find your destination is as interesting as watching paint dry.

True that. The general rule is there's 2 hidden locations/caches on every planet on top of the visible ones. But the Wikia makes life easier for sure.

Why yes you're right I'm deliciously evil
Tradition is the tyranny of dead men
Steam:Kadayi Origin: Kadayi
Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes....The Conclave beckons ... PM for details

To be fair, apart from the ones you do on the Citadel, there's maybe half a dozen sidequests in the first game that are unique and have an actual impact on the storyline further down the road. Everything else is filler content and struggling with the Mako's controls. They give a decent amount of experience, but since enemies level with you that hardly matters in the long run.

As for tips, pistols are a good investment in the first game. They are very powerful, have decent accuracy and I believe any class but the Sentinel can put points into them. Charm and Intimidate are useful, but do exactly the same gameplaywise, so the only reason to invest in both is for roleplaying purposes. As Kadayi mentioned, the moon mission is quite important, so it's a good idea to do it as soon as it comes up.